Slat giolcai: Ó Angla-Shacsanais Leabhar Exeter

The barbarian and the cart: law, citizenship and linguistic identity in Irish macaronic verse

“…47 The most extensive collection of macaronic verse was compiled by Diarmaid Ó'Muirithe in his text 'An t-amhrán Macarónach' which contains some 79 songs dating from the 1850s to the 1950s. 48 In attempting to classify the themes of those songs which can be considered 'substantively macaronic' (in that they make significant or equal use of both Irish and English) a high proportion (some 40%) are, as Zimmerman notes, 'rebel songs' 49 or take a common format of an Irish speaking man attempting to woo an English speaking woman 50 with resulting, and deliberately comic, misunderstandings. 51 ATD falls within this latter category of substantively macaronic songs (though not fitting within either romantic or rebel labels) which make equal use of both languages and in a manner which employs dialogic misunderstandings for dramatic effect.…”